India: The Process of Change

All that remained of Lai Bahadur Shastri was a
small pile of ashes on the bank of New Delhi's Jumna River. Even as the
nation mourned the death of its gentle leader, the search began for a
successor. At week's end, as India's leading politicians huddled in one
meeting after another, it seemed likely that the choice would fall on a
candidate with a magical legacy in Indian politics: Indira Gandhi, 48,
daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru.

The choice was being debated in a small bungalow on a dusty New Delhi
road. There, draped...